A tees Valley college has played host to students from around the world who want to improve their English.

Darlington College held a special event to encourage students to talk to each other in English and share experiences of their life in their own countries and in Britain.

The college specialises in teaching English to foreign students and welcomed people from China, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Iraq, Spain, Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Zimbabwe and the Sudan.

Chinese student Jian-li is visiting England from Heilong Jiang in China. She is learning English from scratch and hopes to go on to study accountancy.

She said: "I am enjoying student life here very much and my English is going well."